Better End
by Gummy Kitten
Summary: Sanji's made a habit out of sneaking aboard pirate skyships to find information on a villain from his past. But what happens when he boards the wrong one and gets caught? By an idiotic marimo-headed swordsman, no less. AU, ZoSan, Slash. For NaNoWriMo
1. Day 1

**Super long A/N- **All righty. This is not only my first AU fanfiction, but also my first fanfiction meant to be anywhere near long. In the past I've stuck to short stories with one or two parts, or short one-shots, but never any 'novels.' But, since it's National Novel Writing Month, here I go with my first good-length and really _serious_ fanfiction.

Like I said, this is AU… it takes place in a universe I created for another story of mine. You might notice that I follow a lot of things from the One Piece storyline, but some things are off. I'm only staying along the lines when I can. Remember this is AU so nothing happened the way it did, though I do try to stay somewhat true to the character's pasts to hold the reasons they are the way they are, I've altered it all to fit the universe better.

This is a slash fic, as specified in the summary. It focuses almost entirely on Zoro and Sanji, but there is a minor amount of Zoro x Luffy as well. Also, there is PLOT. Lots of plot… and angst. Remember I'm doing this for NaNoWriMo so I gotta have something big to go off of.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, because this is written for it, I'm going to update by day instead of by chapter, provided I have a good amount of words and a good stopping point for that day. Regardless, updates for this story should come every 1-3 days if I keep up with NaNo.

Also keep in mind that unfortunately, I'm going for quantity more than quality here, so it definitely won't be up to snuff. But I'll try my best to keep it readable! Hopefully the quick updates'll make up for that.

**-End of super long author note.-**

The group didn't exactly cause his immediate inner insistence that they were sky pirates when they walked through the door, but he kept his eye on them. They came in casually, arguing, laughing and shoving each other like a bunch of friends on a night out. If they were pirates, he couldn't spot one that stood out as a captain.

There were four. A kid, couldn't have been older than fourteen or fifteen, wearing a large, obnoxiously pink hat that almost let him match height with the shortest of the others. Behind him was a skinny, average looking guy in simple clothes and a straw hat. There was also a tall muscular man with a wacky blue hairstyle, and not wearing any pants to boot. The last, and by far the most interesting of the quartet was a tall beautiful woman with straight, black hair that cut off at her shoulders. She was dressed in a short black dress, and to Sanji, her aura was mature and mysterious and irresistible in its own unique way, as all beautiful women were.

Four was a small number for a pirate crew this deep in space, but everyone else who'd come in was a regular. Had Usopp been pulling his leg when he said the ship that had docked in the starport was "definitely a sky pirate's?" What did he call them? The Straw Hat Pirates?' One of them did have that straw hat… didn't he? He'd only know if he found the strength to tear his eyes away from that raven-haired beauty.

"Stop day dreaming and finish that dressing." The voice broke his concentration, and shred his fantasies into microscopic pieces.

Sanji groaned and jerked his head around. "I can fix it and day dream at the same time, old fart!" He barked at the back of the blond haired head with its epically tall chef's hat. Zeff didn't say anything back, having feigned temporary deafness, and Sanji grumbled and turned his neck back to focus again.

The dining room in the Baratie was enormous, but it was a slow day at a typically slow time. Only the smaller tables were seated, and many left empty, so keeping track of who was where was easy, even alongside all the work he had to do in the kitchen. He'd personally asked designers to install the window so he could see the dining room as he worked. At the time he suggested that it would come off as authentic if the customers could see the food being made, but he didn't give a rat's ass about that. Atmosphere was important but the people didn't need to see the food being made, just the final product.

Usopp was walking away from a two-person table with an empty tray under his arm when they made eye contact. Sanji cocked a curled eyebrow as if to ask why he was looking in this direction, and Usopp nodded his head toward the group with the pretty black-haired girl. That was enough for Sanji to assume that the group was indeed the sky pirates he'd mentioned. Usopp always kept up with the bounty boards.

They'd just taken a seat to eat, and by the look on the waiter's face and the way his pen struggled to get everything written without missing bits after he'd asked the straw hat's order, they'd be eating a while.

Sanji untied his apron, and crumpled it on the stove counter. "Dressing's done." He said. "I'm taking my break." He waved with a single hand-motion over his shoulder, and left the kitchen through the back door.

Never underestimate the power of a cigarette to calm your nerves when you're about to board a notorious pirate's skyship. The security in the starport was widely known as top notch, so hardly anyone who parked there had any reason to leave behind any biological security, and anything mechanical could be dealt with. But pirates were pirates, and he'd learned on more than one occasion that he couldn't always fight them off when caught. Worse, being caught by Zeff on any occasion would have meant getting stuck under that old fart's thumb with no freedom to do it again.

Sanji had his back against the far side of the east wall, just out of sight to anyone roaming the starport that aligned with the north wall. He heard the heavy breathing first, and turned to see the long-nosed man, still in his Baratie waiter uniform, running alongside the building in his direction. The beat-up brown bag over his shoulder stood out against the rest of his more formal attire, and bounced against his hip with each step.

He stopped a foot in front of Sanji and heaved to catch his breath with his head bent over and hands braced above his knees. "People are going to start wondering…" He said between breaths. "…Why my bathroom breaks are so long."

Sanji shrugged. "I'm sure they don't worry." He mumbled with the cigarette hanging of his lip.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Usopp quibbled.

"Nevermind, you're in a hurry aren't you?" Sanji held out his hand. "Give it to me."

Feeling greatly under appreciated, Usopp pulled the bag strap over his head and dug into it. He pulled out a small square device, sloppily encased in metal with wiring sticking out two opposite sides. On one face there were dials and a small screen like a calculator, the others were blank.

"That should knock out any security systems the ship might have for five to ten minutes." Usopp explained. "But be careful, most ships of that one's model only have select systems that it's set to shut down, and there's no way of knowing whether the turn off is a success or not."

Sanji snickered. "So it's left to chance." He stuffed the small device in his pocket.

"You'll need these to get into the door's control system." He pulled a small hammer and a flat-head screwdriver out of his bag and handed them off as well. Sanji never felt quite right with so many things in his pockets.

"Thanks Usopp." He turned away. "Oh, Nami gets off in about 10 minutes. Make sure you're there to greet her because I won't be. Remember to ask how her day went!" He kept walking, increasing his volume as he got further away.

"But I'm working!" Usopp protested, but Sanji like Zeff before him, feigned deafness.

The starport's grounds were surrounded by a ten foot barbed fence with electric wiring lining the top. The gate itself only opened through mechanical command and was near impossible to bypass without the right identification and codes. There was no easy way for an outsider to get in with the wrong reasons, but luckily, Sanji wasn't an outsider.

"Ah, Sanji-chan!" One of the guards spotted him and called, waving an arm obnoxiously. "Running low on those spices _again_?" The other security officers watched in disgust as he twirled over to Sanji like a ballerina.

Sanji forced a charmingly sheepish smile and lied through his teeth. "Yeah, they go fast."

Bon Clay twirled and shouted. "Business is business!" He held his arms over his head and dipped his hands down to make a heart. "I'll let you right in!" He started twirling toward the gate and Sanji followed, walking like a normal person with his hands stuffed in his pockets to hide the bulges.

The second guard that was next to the gate didn't question it when Bon Clay opened the gate for Sanji, just sat still in the chair, staring off as if day-dreaming. He was young, probably new, with pinkish hair and a suspicious scar above his left eye.

He looked over and blinked when the gate clanked open, but seemed to choose not to question it.

"You know, Sanji-chan…" Bon went on as he skipped away from the gate control and back next to Sanji's side. "…Normally they have workers to pick up the supplies from the shipyard, but you always come here yourself anyway…"

Sanji opened his mouth to explain, having already cooked up a suitable story to cover that, but was cut off.

"…I'll be there's some kind of secret, isn't there?" Bon hopped and twirled in a manner that Sanji was used to, but still made him want to look the other way. "Don't worry, Sanji-chan, I will not ask about nor reveal your secret!" He said that, but he was practically shouting now. "As your friend, I will respect your privacy!"

"Thanks." Sanji waved half-heartedly, and walked past him to find the ship Usopp had described.

The scary thing about Bon Clay was well, everything. But the nice thing about him was that he could be trusted to stay true to his word. This was why Sanji didn't need to bother making sure he wasn't followed, just casually slipped behind one of the larger ships to make himself disappear.

The Going Merry, it was called, as printed in simple beige capitols on the side. A small, older model, and not exactly in pristine condition. If he remembered correctly, Usopp had said it was a second generation Scimitar model, old but common and exceptionally reliable. Hopefully that didn't so much apply to security systems.

Planting Usopp's little devices had become a piece of cake. He'd lost count of the amount of times he'd done it over the years. Granted, Usopp took care of all the technical stuff, he just did as he was told. But the whole thing had become almost second nature. He knew that the moment it was planted he'd have a minimum of ten seconds to open the door, get inside, and shut it again. It was a simple task, and the only way to screw it up was to forget to grab the device once the bypass was complete and take it inside. Otherwise there was no way out without setting off the alarm.

This time went smoothly, as usual. He was in, silent as a mouse, and everything was accounted for. He tucked the device back into his pocket, took a drag of his cigarette, and looked around. By the blinking green and red lights, pumping bars and rotating gears, he'd clearly stumbled upon a machine room. It was pretty typical for the main entrance to lead to a machine room, as it was the basis for everything the ship could do, and everything, with the right know-how, could be accessed from there.

Unfortunately what Sanji was looking for had no specified location on every ship, so it would take some digging.

It was a particularly noisy room, an uncomfortable place to be as there was no way to hear someone coming after you. He'd have to get out of there as soon as possible to be on his best guard. He didn't expect to be followed, but better safe than sorry. Worst case scenario, someone could still be left on the ship.

Based on the shape of the ship and the side he'd come in on, the main cabin was likely to his left, so he started in that direction. He kept his footsteps quiet, but quick, just in case someone had a damn good ear. The floor was like a drain, overlapping and intersecting narrow sheets of metal, rather than a solid slab. It was the type of construct that would make quite a racket if hit hard enough, so he'd tread lightly.

He could see an exit, a large steel door with a heavy handle just a few more paces in front of him. It was right in front of him, he was practically there, and then… he was falling. All of the sudden his control of his footing had ceased to exist, and the ground was closing in on his face. He hit the floor hard, first his chest, then his face, and then his legs sprawled out sloppily behind him. At first he just lay there, either not believing or not fully comprehending what kind of shit had just happened. Aside from the bruises he'd have tomorrow, if anyone was still on the ship, they'd have to be deaf to have not heard that.

He lifted his head and looked back over his shoulder. There, just a few inches back from the up-turned soul of his shoe was a giant, thick metal wrench. As the only obstruction in view, it must've been the culprit. Sanji wasted no time jumping to his feet, face red with anger. He drew back his left leg with all his might and, with no restraint or consideration for consequences, thrust it forward.

"Shitty wrench!" He shouted and the heavy tool made more than just lift-off. It flew through the air in less than a millisecond, and slammed directly into one of the ship's machines. For a moment Sanji hoped for the Straw hat's sake that that contraption wasn't anything important, because he doubted it would ever work again. On another note, when the red lights started flashing and multiple alarms started to sound from different places around the room, it was clearly his cue to cut his losses and get the hell out of there. If he could escape in one piece and without being caught maybe he'd have a chance to come back later.

He thought he had easy chances, the door he'd entered through was so close, there was no way anyone would make it to investigate until he was already long gone. With the alarms already sounding, there was no reason for him to shut down security, he just had to get the hell out and run, and running was something he was particularly fast at.

His first mistake was losing his cool over a fall and breaking that machine. His second, and more fatal mistake, was stopping as the alarms suddenly came to an end. The red lights stopped flashing, and for a moment, he thought he was safe, and slowed down. If that hadn't happened, he may have managed to get the hell out before that blade bared itself aside his head, directly below his ear. It was steady, firm and the sharp side was nearly biting into the skin just beneath his jaw. He had no choice but to stop running and submit to it.

The moment he did he was yanked backward by a hand that closed itself around his upper arm. The blade turned so it was underneath his chin and against his throat, and he could feel breath on his left ear.

"O-Oi!" He tried to protest, afraid for a moment that this obvious pirate swordsman was just going to cut his neck open without a second thought. He shut up fast when the edge pressed closer against his throat, close enough to shave the tiny invisible hairs under his chin.

"I'll give you a tip for next time." A deep, heavy voice spoke. "When the alarms turn off, it means someone turned them off." It was right against his ear, whispered hoarsely like a demon's manner of seduction. A large hand settled on his midsection, and stroked roughly down his side to his hip, like some sort of almost sexual version of intimidation. "That means run faster, not stop." Sanji scoffed, having expected interrogation rather than insults. "Dumb blond." The voice whispered with a sinister snicker on the side.

Sanji frowned, thinking he would have preferred being chopped into little pieces as opposed to being insulted by some sword guy with a big, dumb-sounding voice. With gathered confidence, he launched himself backward, knocking the swordsmen back with him. He regained his footing quickly, and so did the other guy, but the sword gave just enough space between its blade and his throat for him to duck out of the way before it could reclaim him. Once down with his hands braced against the floor, he swung a leg around to try and trip the swordsmen off his feet, but the other man jumped back to dodge.

Sanji straightened himself and turned his body around to face his opponent, now standing just as straight a yard or so ahead of him. They regarded each other for a moment, but there was zero change of expression, both kept the same irritated glares.

"It's pointless to try to fight me." The swordsmen seemed to be in a suddenly more serious mood. While he babbled on, Sanji quick let up a cigarette, having dropped his last one when he'd tripped. "Not only would you lose, but this starport's security is probably already here."

Sanji snorted. "I'd lose?" He grinned with the smoke stick dangling from his lips. "Bullshit."

The swordsmen didn't hesitate to laugh back at him. "Well, it's all the same to me. I was going to leave you alive for the guards, but I'd be just as happy sending you out in pieces." He held the sword out in front of him, turned on its side. There were two more secured on his hips, along with a green haramaki. Three swords, santoryuu. That word was only commonly associated with one man, and while Sanji rarely kept up with the current celebrities, this name was hard to miss.

Roronoa Zoro, not an opponent to be taken lightly.

The thought for what the hell an infamous headhunter was doing on a sky pirate's craft crossed his mind, and he entertained it. Maybe, just maybe, this guy was after the straw hat's head, and if Sanji took him down, perhaps his little incident of breaking and entering would be overlooked. That or he could blame it all on Zoro.

Even if not, there was no way Sanji was about to turn down an obvious challenge. Besides, this guy didn't look so tough.

Sanji let out a short, sharp "ha" and shoved his hands casually into his pockets. "As if a shitty swordsman like you could."

Roronoa Zoro was put off by the statement, but then smirked and aligned the tip of his sword with the space between Sanji's eyes. "We'll see, swirly-brow." He cocked his head and grinned. His last real fight had been over a month ago and he was aching for some decent action. Maybe the blond would be able to land a hit or two before losing a limb or two.

"Let's go then, marimo-head." Sanji spat back his own spur of the moment insult, and raised a leg. Zoro took a step, but Sanji was the first to make a full move. He thrust his left leg into the air, spun, and threw it down mercilessly. Zoro had to move fast to block it, and with one sword he barely managed to keep it off him. The force was at least five times more than he'd braced himself for, and he almost faltered.

It was crazy! How could a kick be that powerful?

"Don't underestimate." Sanji advised, and thrust himself backward. Zoro took a swing when he did, but Sanji had expected that, and dodged with a side-step, though closer than he'd planned.

Zoro was put off by the arrogance, but unsheathed his second and third sword anyway. Sanji watched, pleased that he was being taken seriously, and wondering just how one uses three swords at once. He almost laughed when the swordsmen placed the hilt in his mouth and bit down on it. But he quickly changed his mind when Zoro made his move.

When it came to dodging and blocking, three blades was a pain in the ass, especially when all three were evidently handled with near perfection. Sanji was ready, perfect stance, but when all three blades came at him something happened. He blocked the first swing, dodged the second, and then the third came, straight at his face, he couldn't move in time…

Then it stopped. Sanji was sure he'd been in for a painful blow at least, so much that he'd shut his eyes, but it never came.

When he opened them, Zoro's face was just as surprised as his. He looked to the sword with the white hilt, the one that would have given him a nasty gash, had it not been for the hand that was now clasped around the blade.

"Franky?" Zoro said in a mostly irritated, partly questioning voice.

"Don't go all out in my machine room." The blue-haired man let go of his sword, and Zoro let it's tip drop from aggression. "If you want to pick fights with chefs, take it outside."

_Chef?_ Sanji scoffed. So they knew who he was already? _Damn it._

Behind the blue haired man, Franky, as he'd been called, were the other three. The one with the straw hat in the middle, pink hat on his left, and the beautiful raven haired lady to his right.

Sanji's eyes became huge, and his heart rate picked up until it was bulging out of his chest. Such unique, unbelievable beauty, just a few feet away, and not only that, but she was looking right at him. Could this be… love at first sight?

"I'm not picking fights." Zoro explained, calmly sheathing his swords. "It's this asshole that came aboard and randomly started breaking shit."

"What was that?" Sanji's moment was shattered, and he took a leg swing at Zoro's head. Zoro ducked it and tried to throw back a punch, but it was stopped by another hand. Smaller than the blue-haired man's, but apparently strong enough to stop that force.

"Luffy?" Zoro's eyes flicked to the straw-hatted man, who'd stepped forward. Sanji noted how this man's interference had subdued Zoro much more efficiently than Franky's. Luffy, his name was, and the straw hat in relation to the crew's nickname would've made him the captain.

"What were you doing on our ship?" He asked Sanji, releasing Zoro's arm. Sanji couldn't say there was anything intimidating about this man, so he wasn't all that inclined to answer.

"I was just out for a walk." He shrugged, and puffed at his cigarette.

The captain, Luffy, considered this. "Oh." He said, and then considered more. "Well why are you talking walks in other people's ships?" He frowned. "And breaking things!" His hand balled into a fist. Sanji just stared at him in sheer surprise. Had his obvious sarcasm really just been taken seriously?

"Luffy." Zoro put a hand on his shoulder.

"Shut up!" Luffy shook it off. "I won't forgive him for damaging Merry without a better reason!" He pulled his arm back, but Zoro restrained him with both arms this time.

"But security's on the way and you'll just break more things!" Zoro tried, and the others got involved as well. Well, Franky and the kid did, the woman was just smiling, amused by the scene.

"Luffy!" The pink-hatted kid just latched onto his midsection to help hold him back, but didn't seem to be doing much.

"Just let his people take care of him!" Franky tried to reason.

"Shut up!" Luffy was still struggling.

Sanji didn't have the slightest idea what he was looking at, or what the deal was with these weirdos, but he'd stopped caring the moment he got an eye full of than woman again. Finally, with the others busy, he might have a chance to…

"What's the problem here?" Another voice from the ship's entrance broke into the scene, and all attention turned. One of the security guards walked in with a few others following. "Pirates?" He raised his weapon, voice shaking. "What are they doing?"

"This is our ship." Franky said, and pointed a huge finger at Sanji's face. "He's the one that's trespassing." Just taking his word for it, the guard turned his gun on Sanji. Sanji didn't move from his spot. He was fucked, that was for sure, and he didn't see a way out of it. His reasons weren't even worth talking about, or trying to explain. As far as anyone else would ever be concerned, he really had been 'just taking a walk' and he had no choice now but to accept any punishment for doing so.

It wasn't the first time he'd been caught, but times before he'd only been caught by security, not the pirate ship owners themselves, and he'd never left any trace that he'd been there. In those cases he'd just paid all of the guards that had found him their to keep their mouths shut or convinced the dumber lot he'd just stumbled into the wrong place.

But this wasn't a situation he could get out of. If only he hadn't been provoked by the damn green-headed swordsman.

"Sanji-chan!" Bon Clay's head and hand poked into the ship, frowning sadly when he saw Sanji standing there, hands stuffed in his pocket. "What's going on here?" He hopped the rest of the way in and demanded one of guards an answer.

"We're not sure yet." The skittish one stuttered.

Sanji noticed Franky turning around, and walking deeper into the machine room.

"Hey!" Luffy shouted. "I remember you! You're that Mr. 2!" He pointed his finger hard at Bon Clay. Bon's eyes widened at first, and he blinked, then shot forward, placing both his hands on Luffy's shoulders.

"Shh." He said. "Don't blow my cover!" Luffy wasn't sure what was going on, but with that horrid looking face and crazy make-up and eye-lashes so close to his, he couldn't say anything, just stare, dumbfounded.

"Oh hell." Franky's voice came from further into the room. "The main engine's completely destroyed!" He shouted.

Luffy gasped and whipped around. "You can't fix it?" He flailed.

"I can fix it." He peered into the hole that Sanji had created in one of the machines, the main engine apparently, where he'd kicked the wrench. Franky reached his right hand in, and ripped the heavy wrench out like a cord and plug from a wall. "But the adapter's in halves." He looked again. "Those things are expensive as hell, there's no way we can afford a new one." He pushed up his sunglasses, revealing a set of embarrassingly prominent lower eyelashes. "Can't fly without it."

Luffy was flabbergasted. "We're broke?" He whipped around back to Sanji. "You bastard!" He pulled his arm back to punch again, and this time no one in his crew made a move to stop him.

"Hold on!" The voice was loud, authoritative, and for Sanji, horribly familiar. He cringed at the sound of it, knowing he was in for the worst now. "I'll take care of this idiot." He said, and started toward Sanji. Sanji watched his peg leg as he walked, hoping it would get stuck in one of the holes and he'd make a fool of himself. But he was too accustomed to walking on it for that.

"I knew you'd been sneaking off and doing _something_ lately." Zeff said, in his stupid old daddy-figure voice. Sanji just snickered, thinking only that he'd been doing this a lot more often than lately, and there for has managed to keep the majority a secret. "What's the meaning of this? Trying to rob pirate ships? Don't I pay you enough?" He went on. "What, are you going to ask me for a raise?" When he got close he lifted a leg and took a swing at Sanji's head, and Sanji ducked it and backed away.

"Old man." Luffy interrupted. "Let me kick his ass and you won't have to punish him." He held up a tightly curled fist.

"Shut up, Luffy." Zoro stepped up. "Someone here has to pay for what this idiot cook broke, because we can't." He tossed the insults over his shoulder at Sanji, and Sanji scowled back.

"An adapter, huh." Zeff crossed his arms. "For an engine model like that, he doesn't have that kind of money, and neither do I."

"Well someone has to do something." The pink-hatted kid flailed. "How are we going to leave here?"

"We're not in any hurry." The black-haired woman inquired, fingers placed thoughtfully upon her left cheek.

"Robin?" Luffy looked back at her, wondering what she was thinking. Sure, they weren't in a big hurry, but they had adventures to complete!

Sanji's attention turned once again… Robin, what a beautiful name!

"We could stay here until we have enough." She suggested, then smiled in Zeff's direction. "For free, perhaps?" She tilted her head charmingly.

Luffy's eyes suddenly lit up in realization and he shot his arms into the air. "Free meat!" He shouted, making it clear that he could agree to her idea.

"This is a hotel as well as a restaurant, isn't it?" Robin finished. Zeff regarded her, wondering what these pirates would do if he just refused them everything. After all, as sky pirates, they weren't under the protection of any laws, so the government wouldn't stop them if he just forced them away without any compensation. But for the time being they seemed decent, and like they didn't want any trouble. If he provoked them, he didn't know what they were capable of.

"All right." He sighed, accepting. "Come inside and we'll go over the details of how and where you'll be staying. Try to come to some sort of reasonable compromise." Then he looked at Sanji. "As for you, you're fired." With that, he whipped around and started to leave.

"Like hell I am!" Sanji shot forward. "I'm the assistant manager and the sous-chef, you can't fire me!" It wasn't true, the 'can't' part, but there was no way Zeff would just kick him out over this.

"Then you're working without pay." Zeff was quick to retort, and to that, Sanji couldn't object. He gritted his teeth, but submitted.

"I guess a free vacation would be all right." The kid in the pink hat said thoughtfully, and Franky grinned and put an arm around him.

"That's the spirit, Chopper." He said. "As soon as we can get a replacement I'll fix the ship. For now we can just stay here." He smiled at Robin, as if to silently thank her for the idea, and she smiled back, nodding.

"Whoo!" Luffy waved his arms around and started walking back toward the ship's exit. "Let's go eat some more then!"

"Luffy!" Zoro shouted, but Luffy just kept on going. The guards looked confused over the whole situation, but as the starport was under the Baratie's watch as well, Zeff's word was final.

It had been decided that the whole of the straw hat crew would stay in four of the available rooms and be allowed free dining with some limitations (that would only really cripple Luffy's eating ability) and unlimited access to the pool and entertainment areas. Zeff had to offer unlimited room service and bar access as well to get them to accept not occupying the hotel's two available suites. All in all, Zeff wasn't happy about it, but he could take a good percentage of what would be lost out of Sanji's pay.

Sanji was especially irritated, because in addition to the no pay factor, he was on a much shorter leash. Zeff wasn't going to allow him any breaks unless he said exactly what he was doing and where he was going, and he'd be monitored during his time off as well. He was being treated more like a child who needed a slap on the wrist than a criminal that needed punishment.

Not to mention those damn obnoxious straw hats got on his nerves every time they decided it was time for a bite, which ended up being about five times a day, likely thanks to that hungry as hell captain of theirs. The Baratie was used to lively pirates, as were most of their regular customers, but those four (excluding the lovely Robin, who was always very considerate to those around her) in particular left some of the worst messes and made some of the worst racket. Worst of all, Zeff had decided that Sanji was still allowed to eat for free as long as he helped clean up the dining room after closing. The straw hats had a habit of sitting at the same table, and he always found the most interestingly disgusting things on and around it.

Thankfully, Usopp and Nami stayed late to share his misery as well. Helping? No, they just 'kept him company' while he worked. Sanji was very grateful to Nami for this, as not only did just seeing her face lift his spirits to full throttle, she probably had better things to do. Usopp was more likely just bored.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't let those other girls up stage you like that." Usopp was babbling on about something that was starting to get on Sanji's nerves, though he hadn't been listening very closely. It sounded like he was questioning Nami's actions in some way, which was simply unforgivable.

"Up stage?" Nami said. "You mean parade around like a prostitute?" She was definitely offended, but Usopp wasn't buying it. Not one of the other dancers was more willing to show a little extra leg for a little extra cash than Nami. "Besides it's not like I want to do this for a living like they do." Nami sighed, "I'm just saving up so I'm not completely broke when I find a way to become a private navigator."

Sanji sighed dreamily. "That's right, you want to see the universe." He spun around as he swept, as if dancing with the broom. "What a beautiful dream!" He danced his way over to her and tried to take her hand in his, but she moved it.

"Not just see it." She said proudly. "Draw it." And winked. Sanji couldn't decide whether to faint or have a nose-bleed, so he did a little of both, and crumbled on the floor with his chin and big dumb smile on one of the tables.

Usopp rolled his eyes, and stood up from his chair. "I gotta get going." He said. "I'm meeting Kaya tonight."

"Like every other night." Nami tossed out as Usopp walked toward the exit.

"Yeah, yeah." He said, waving her off. "See you guys tomorrow."

"See-ya." Sanji was back on his feet and sweeping, mostly just to appear busy at this point. There wasn't much left to do, but he could pretend forever if Nami would stay there with him.

" I should get going too." She said, not bothering to explain herself. She had little explanation aside from being tired, and he wouldn't question her anyway. Sanji was disappointed, but he didn't show it. The last thing he wanted to do was make a lady feel bad for him.

"Good-bye, Nami-swan!" He sung as she walked toward the restaurant's exit. "See you in the morning!"

She waved half-heartedly, much like Usopp had, and left Sanji there alone in the dining room with his broom.

Sanji deemed himself finished not long after Nami had left, but it was too early to sleep. He used to go for a swim most nights in the hotel pool after most everyone else had left. Though his new chores had gotten in the way of that recently, there was no better time to get back into the habit. Not only did he like what swimming did for his physique, it gave him time to clear his head and think.

The pool area was simple, but very large. The pool itself was at least thirty feet wide and even bigger in length, with a maximum depth of 10 feet on the diving end. There was also a bubbling hot tub at the far end, and two extensive locker rooms for changing and storing less water proof items.

Sanji left his clothes in his suite, and walked to the pool house in swim shorts with a towel in hand. He would have been yelled at if Zeff caught him, but he hated fussing with the damn locker rooms, and there was nothing worse than walking into one to find a naked fat man in the middle of changing in or out of his swimsuit.

Despite the extensive guest list, the pool house was almost always empty on weeknights after eleven o'clock or so. It didn't close until 1 AM, but Sanji was just about the only one that ever stayed that late. That's why, when he walked in, he was surprised to see a figure gliding underneath the water. The swimming style was graceful, but he could tell from the shape and size that it wasn't a lady, to his misfortune. Admittedly, he was a little put off, and had been counting on some alone time.

When the man surfaced, Sanji recognized him immediately. He hadn't been able to tell against the blue of the pool walls, but the bright green hair gave him away. As soon as he wiped the water out of his eyes, he looked up at Sanji.

"You?" He asked. He'd thought he heard the door shut. "Don't you have some chores to do?"

"Shut up marimo." Sanji stamped to one of the chairs and tossed his towel onto it. "Just keep searching for a nice rock to attach to." He paused there, contemplated his folded towel where he'd thrown it, and then just snatched it up again and turned to leave.

"Change your mind?" Zoro said , grinning mockingly.

"I don't swim with algae." He mumbled back. He could save his swimming time for another night.

"Hold on." Zoro's tone became serious, and for reasons he wouldn't be able to explain if asked, Sanji stopped and looked back at him. He had his arms folded on the outside edge of the pool now, and his chin rested on one of his wrists. "I wanted to ask you something." He said. Sanji was a little curious, but didn't encourage him.

Zoro asked anyway. "Why were you on our ship that day?" He said. Sanji scoffed to himself, as that was exactly the question he'd been expecting, and his answer wasn't going to change. "Just seemed like you had some greater purpose than killing our engine, and it didn't look like a gold robbery either."

"Maybe I was there to assassinate you." Sanji shrugged, content with keeping this a guessing game.

Zoro chuckled darkly, and Sanji disallowed the chills that built up at the base of his neck to crawl down his spine. "Watch what you say." He said. "If I didn't know you were bull shitting I'd kill you for that one. After all, kill or be killed, isn't it?"

Sanji was facing the opposite direction, but he heard movement in the water behind him. When he glanced back, Zoro was in the process of pushing himself out of the pool and onto his feet.

The first thing Sanji noticed were his dark green swim trunks, and had to snicker at that. They were baggy and when all the way down past his knees- overly masculine as far as Sanji was concerned. The second thing, and what stood out a lot more was the single yet very apparent gash that ran diagonally across his torso. Starting at his right shoulder and ending at his left hip, and quite visible from the few yard distance. He didn't even realize he was staring at it until it was no longer visible as Zoro turned to grab his towel.

"Don't leave on my account." He said. "I was just going anyway." He dried his minimal amount of hair, and then just let the towel hang over his shoulders around the back of his neck, as if the rest of him wasn't still dripping wet.

Sanji felt like it should have been too late, like the dumb marimo's presence had already killed the mood. But in actuality, he really did want to have a swim.

The swordsman disappeared, still sopping wet, into the locker room. _Well, if he was on his way out anyway_… Sanji's eyes flicked back to the pool.


	2. Day 3

He didn't bother flipping on the light as he walked into the room, dragging another along behind him by the wrist.

"Zoro." There was a half-hearted tug on the wrist he held, but he ignored it. "Zoro come on. It's dark in here!"

Zoro jerked him by the arm, spun him around, and positioned him so the backs of his legs rubbed against the edge of the bed. "You scared?" He mocked, grinning in the dark and slowly advancing forward until their bodies and the bed were practically occupying the same space.

"Shut up." Luffy frowned. "I just can't see anything." He waved his arms around, looking both ways to see if he could see either of them moving in the dark. He couldn't, in fact he could barely see Zoro's face in front of him.

Zoro snickered, leaned in and left a kiss on Luffy's right eyelid, and then turned back around to head toward the door. He flipped the switch on, and blinked to wait for his eyes to adjust to the lights.

"Ya'know if you keep bringing me in here my room's never going to get used." Luffy sat on the edge of the bed, thinking about the fridge full of little chocolates and tasty looking drinks he was yet to indulge in due to the fact that Zoro was constantly dragging him away. Luffy had already emptied Zoro's fridge, so this room has lost its interesting touch.

"And why did you turn it on now?" He suddenly realized the light made his eyes hurt and shut them tightly first before blinking the funny feeling away.

"I want to see." Zoro turned around and walked back toward the bed.

"Pervert." Luffy said, deadpan, pulling one leg up to fold it under the other.

Zoro snickered and smiled as he walked around the side of the bed and fell onto the pillow, hands folded behind his head, legs crossed at the ankle.

Luffy twisted his body around to stare intently at the swordsman, who seemed perfectly content with just going to sleep now.

"Hey!" Luffy flipped himself onto his hands and knees and started crawling up the bed. "Don't drag me in here and then just fall asleep." He crawled up along side and then sat on his legs next to Zoro, who didn't open his eyes, or even move.

Frowning and irritated, Luffy sought the best way to get his stubborn first mate to react. He started with the more innocent methods that came to mind, poking his face, punching him in the arm, pulling on his hair, though it was hard to get a hold of at its length. Zoro just stayed perfectly still, as if he'd already fallen asleep.

Luffy scowled at him, watching the way his chest moved as he breathed in and out. Sometimes Zoro snored and left his mouth hanging open, drooling like an idiot when he slept, in fact more often than not. But on a good night, like tonight, the swordsman's sleeping face was one of the most peaceful he'd ever seen.

Luffy wanted to mess it up.

He leaned in close to Zoro's face, close enough to feel the breath from his nose, and stopped there a moment. Carefully, he swung one leg and one arm over Zoro's body, and shifted so that he was hovering directly above. Zoro still didn't move, not even a twitch, and that made Luffy even more determined, and confident.

Elbows resting just below the pillow next to Zoro's neck, he started to lean in. He didn't shut his eyes, though he normally would have, because he wanted to see Zoro's eyes when he opened them. His open lips were just centimeters away, and the thought sent shivers down his neck. Zoro typically tasted like a bitter, expensive wine, liquor, or sake, but he had his own taste that mixed in and made it pleasant. If all sake tasted like Zoro after he drank some, Luffy might have actually considered taking it up.

Luffy was just about to connect, and more excited over it then he'd planned to be, when he felt something behind him, and stopped. When he looked back, Zoro's hand was carelessly on his back, making it's way slowly under his shirt and up. Luffy put on his best 'not amused' face before he turned back to Zoro, whose eyes were now wide open.

"You take too long." He snickered, and the hand that was on Luffy's back, in one motion, wrapped around him, pushed his body down to meet Zoro's hips, and pulled him up to meet his lips.

Luffy let the tongue in the moment it prodded his lips, and from there, there was no stopping it. Zoro was the first one he'd ever done things like this with, and needless to say, he found it… interesting. Fun, even, so what reason did he have to complain? Sex was never something he knew a whole lot about, but this, this was nice.

Zoro was glad to have his captain in his arms again. Earlier Luffy hit it off like long-time best friends with some long-nosed waiter and disappeared into the arcade with him and Chopper. That left Zoro with Franky and Robin, who most certainly weren't the king and queen of PDA, but just knowing their relationship made him feel more alone. Eventually going for a swim to get away from them didn't prove to help much either, since he ran into that annoying swirly blond cook and basically got kicked out.

Now that he had Luffy all to himself, everything would feel right for a while. That was, aside from the churning deep in his gut that had been and would always be there.

"You've been hanging out with those shitheads?" Sanji scoffed, interrupting what Usopp was saying to Nami about beating some high score on Prehistoric Attack in the arcade the night before.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" Usopp turned to him.

Sanji considered. "Well they're sky pirates for one thing." He snorted. "Don't you think it's a little dangerous?"

"In case you forgot, my dad is a sky pirate too, so I don't have any issues unlike you." Usopp went on. "You're just bitter with them because _someone_ botched my perfectly concocted plan and got caught."

A look of despair came over Sanji, and he sunk into a slouch with his cheek pressed against the bar counter. "It's true, without my usual pay, I can no longer treat Nami-san to the most expensive drinks." He pouted.

"That's all right." Nami smiled, waving him off. "As long as you're broke and Usopp's treating you I figure I can just come along and achieve the same end."

"What?" Usopp nearly fell out of his seat. "I'm not buying your drinks!"

"If you don't I'll tell Kaya you tried to touch me in dirty ways."

"I did no such thing!" Usopp jumped off his stool and flailed in front of her, drawing attention from pretty much everyone in the bar. "Stop making shit up!" He pointed an accusing finger.

"Hey!" Sanji erupted as well, and slapped Usopp's hand away from Nami. "Don't point your disgusting sausages at Nami-swan's angelic face!"

A loud, obnoxious laughter was heard from across the room, and paused their minor altercation. The trio, along with most others in the bar, turned to look.

"Usopp!" Luffy shouted, waving an arm high in the air from one of the tables at the far back near the entrance to the dining room. "Usopp!" He repeated. Chopper was also jumping up and down, waving and laughing, truly happy to see him. The other three were there two, just watching, as if wondering what the hell those two were doing.

Usopp finally grinned, and raised his arm to wave back. "Hey, Luffy, Chop-" He was cut off by a heavy impact to the back of his head.

"You didn't apologize." Sanji said, and put his foot back on the ground. "And don't yell across the bar."

Usopp got up slowly, shaking and rubbing his head over dramatically. Honestly, Sanji hadn't kicked him _that _hard. "You bastard." Usopp said, though strained, once he was on his feet. "I'm going to go hang out with my _new_ friends!" Usopp threw his arms in the air, letting his happiness betray his former attempts to look hurt, and practically skipped across the bar to Luffy and Chopper's table.

"Good riddance." Sanji rolled his eyes, and then, as if having gone through a complete character transformation, twirled around to face Nami-san.

"Now we can finally be alone~!" He said, hands folded next to his face and smiling like a cracked up fangirl.

"I'm going to talk to those guys too." She said, getting up from the stool, the slit on her fitted red dress revealing more of her thigh than it was meant to as she did. Sanji's heart nearly exploded out of his chest.

"Knock them dead, Nami-swan!" He thrust a fist in the air and spun into a circle, nearly losing his balance as he slowed down. By the time his enthusiastic cheering had finished, Nami was all the way across the room.

It only took him a few seconds alone at the bar to realize. "Damn it Usopp." He said. "You're supposed to pay for this." He took a sip of his drink and then set it back down. It didn't take much contemplation to decide to join the pair as well. After all, it wasn't like he had anything else to do.

…

Of course, he wasn't expecting to be nearly mauled into the floor as soon as he arrived. It slipped his mind for a moment that to these people, he was the asshole that fucked up their ship. The captain was quick to remind him though.

"You bastard! I'll kill you for killing Merry!" Luffy struggled in Usopp's hold.

"Come on, Luffy, Merry's fine." Franky said. "And they're making up for it by letting us stay here."

"Shut up! He broke her!" Luffy broke free of Usopp and jerked his index finger in Sanji's direction. He stamped two steps to where Sanji was standing, and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up until his heels left the floor.

"Luffy!" Chopper said in a small, frightened voice.

"Hold on." Sanji said, keeping his cool, and put a hand on Luffy's shoulder. Luffy looked at it, confused, and then looked back to Sanji. This captain struck Sanji as a very simple person, so maybe using simple words was the best way to stop him from tearing the place apart. "I didn't mean to beat up your ship." He explained. "I had my own reasons for being there but it wasn't to destroy—or steal anything. What happened was an accident." It was the truth, mostly. "Anyway I'm really sorry about it." He gave his best sincere smile, and held up his right hand for good measure.

Luffy held him there for a few moments, and then slowly loosened his hold until his feet touched the floor again.

"We forgive you." Luffy bowed sharply, and then stood back up straight.

"Speak for yourself!" Zoro burst out. "That was too easy!"

Sanji snickered. "What's the matter, marimo?" He flashed Zoro his victorious grin. "Still mad because you couldn't beat me?"

"What?" Zoro pounded a fist on the table. That fucking dart-brow knew that he'd be dead already if Franky hadn't interfered!

Robin laughed. "I guess that's that then." She said, and Franky chuckled as well.

"Hey, you're a cook or something right?" Luffy walked around Sanji with his finger thoughtfully on his chin, as if sizing something up.

"Or something…" Sanji said, watching him carefully as he walked around.

Luffy stroked an imaginary beard, and then decided. "All right, I have it!" He said. "In addition to your apology, you will bring me some delicious cooked meat!" He crossed his arms, and nodded assuredly.

Zoro's forehead hit the table.

Sanji was indefinitely amused, and snickered. "Aye, aye, captain." He said. He was sure he had some sort of steak or beef tucked away in his freezer. "But there is something I have to take care of, first."

Luffy tilted his head, disappointed. How long would he have to wait for his apology meat? "Huh? What's that?" It was almost like Sanji had teleported. One moment he was standing in front of Luffy, and the next, he was hovering next to Robin with a lavender rose he's snatched from the bouquet hanging next to the entrance.

"The lavender rose." He placed it in front of her. "Signifying true love at first sight." He let his fingers dance across the stem, just barely dodging the thorns as he brought his hand away. "For it's true, the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew that it was meant to be!" He picked up the wine bottle, and began pouring it into her empty glass. Robin covered her mouth and laughed into her hand, indefinitely amused. "For you, I would reveal every one of my secrets, and-,"

"Hey!" A booming voice interrupted him, and Sanji looked up, glaring.

"What the hell do you want?" Sanji looked up at Franky, who was up out of his seat and towering over him. That wacky tall hairstyle just made him look bigger, too.

"Back off." Franky ordered. "Watch whose territory you're stepping in to!" He cracked the knuckles of his right hand. Sanji remembered that this was the hand that had grabbed and stopped Zoro's sword, but paid the memory little mind.

"Territory?" Sanji slammed the bottle of wine down on the table. "Beautiful women aren't pieces of land to be owned! They're immaculate flowers to be free, but loved and cherished too!" His words were sweet but his tone was still venomous.

"Screw you! Don't try to tell me how to treat a girl!" Franky raised the same right fist next to Sanji's head, and Sanji was sure it could knock him across the room. But he was also sure he could duck out of the way if it tried.

"I could school _all_ of you low-lives on how to treat a lady!" He barked back.

"Franky, Cook-san." Robin interrupted, still smiling in amusement.

"What?" Franky answered her, in almost the same tone he'd been using on Sanji.

"Yes, my gorgeous angel?" Sanji nearly bled out at the sound of his own title from those perfect lips.

"I'm sorry, Cook-san, but I'm already spoken for." She explained, as plainly as she could. Sanji felt his heart break into a million pieces, and he fell to his knees until his face smashed against the table.

"Dumbass." Zoro snorted.

Sanji suddenly erupted from his former death site and practically jumped on top of Zoro, pulling at his shirt collar with one foot flat against his chest. "What was that you shitty swordsman!"

Franky laughed loudly, and Luffy was quick to join in. "I like him!" He said, clapping. "But where's my meat?" That's when the rest of the table either burst in a fit of laughter, or at least giggled. All aside from a swirly-browed ero-cook and a marimo-headed shitty swordsman, who were far too busy glaring death at each other.

"All right, I'll let it go this time." Franky said, with plenty of sportsmanship. "After all, she is pretty irresistible!" He smiled goofily at Robin.

"Right!" Sanji practically flew through the air, off of Zoro to land in front of Franky, so happy to have found someone who shared his passion.

"Hurry and bring me my meat!" Luffy went on. He was already holding his silverware, a fork his left hand a knife in his right. Didn't make a lot of sense though, because he'd probably end up eating with his bear hands.

"It has to be cooked first you know." Usopp said.

"I'll eat it raw!" Luffy exclaimed in all seriousness, and pounded his fists down on the table.

Zoro was glad the damn cook had gotten the hell out of his face, but the scene before him made him want to barf. They'd all hit it off so fast, like old friends even though they'd never even met. It was especially annoying when one among them had boarded their ship, obviously for a reason, and still hadn't revealed what that reason was. He could be a bounty hunter for all Luffy knew!

Sanji glanced in Zoro's direction, catching his cold scowl, but just shrugged it off. Being a party pooper is, after all, a personal choice.

Getting to know the strawhat pirates didn't last long. Sanji made Luffy two fourteen ounce steaks, and by the time he was done eating them, Sanji had another shift coming up. Even so, he was sure he could have gotten used to spending time with them, if not only just because of how stunning Robin was. Especially if Usopp and Nami were so interested too. They were his closest friends, the people he always made plans with when they all had time. And if the pirates did end up being dangerous, Nami might need his protection! It wasn't as if Usopp could be trusted to keep her safe and secure.

They wouldn't be there long, but the trio was used to developing short relationships with customers and then ending them the day they left. This would be no different.

Having successfully gotten himself back into the habit, Sanji got ready to go swimming just about out of reflex after he got off work. Fortunately, the pool area was vacant when he arrived this time, just the way he counted on it to be. He tossed his towel onto his usual lounge chair, and dove right in.

The pool wasn't heated, but it was warm inside the building, and it gave the water a perfectly brisk, but comfortable feel. He stayed under for a while, as long as his lungs would let him. There was always something free feeling about being under water- the feeling of floating, completely immersed in thin liquid, above the ground and not limited by gravity. Water, oceans, lakes, he'd always wanted to live on a planet with a high percentage of water. There was always something comforting no matter how he took it, almost as if it was meant to be a part of him.

When he emerged, as the water flowed out of his ears and he wiped it away from his eyes, he was surprised to hear a sinister cackle. He looked up, and blinked, hoping he was just hearing things. But he must've been down on his luck, because standing there at the edge of the pool was that damn swordsman again, all dressed up and ready to swim.

"The hell are you laughing at?" Sanji spat.

"Just the way your hair covers your right eye even while you're in the water." Zoro sat down at the edge of the pool with his feet hanging in.

"That's just the way it's cut, asshole." Sanji grumbled. He pushed it out of his eye for a moment, but quickly got uncomfortable and shook so it would fall back. "You better get in the water fast, I hear seaweed doesn't do so well on dry land."

"You should get some new insults." Zoro said, and pushed himself off the pool's edge and into the water.

"I don't feel as if I've fully exhausted the ones about marimo, Marimo." Sanji leaned back casually into a back stroke and then stopped still to just let himself float.

"Are you going to run away again?" Zoro asked, legs bent so only his head and the tops of his shoulders could be seen.

"Why do you care?" Sanji said. He'd been considering it, all though he just got there so it wasn't his favorite option.

Zoro paused to think, and then shrugged. "I don't."

"Good." Sanji suddenly took in a breath, held it, and flipped over to dive under again. He stayed under for as long as he could before his chest started to tighten, and then came up. When he did, Zoro was a few feet away, swimming with full strokes in a straight line like he would if he were in the middle of a race. He was fast too, though his technique wasn't exactly immaculate.

When he got to one end of the pool, he didn't stop for long before turning around and doing the same thing all the way to the other end. He repeated this twice more before he finally decided to take a rest.

"You didn't strike me as the swimmer type." Sanji said. "I thought someone as freakishly muscular as you would spend more time in the gym."

Zoro blinked. "They have a gym?" He scratched his head.

"Yeah." Sanji cocked an eyebrow. "There are signs everywhere." There was no way anyone could miss them…

"Oh, yeah." Zoro kept scratching his head. "Those." There was something bitter in his voice, like he held some sort of grudge against the signs. Sanji would have loved to hear the story behind that one. Finally, Zoro shrugged. "I'll probably go sometime. I like this for now though." With that, he took off down the line to go another few laps.

Sanji rolled his eyes and got back to doing some strokes of his own. Most of the time he just swam and floated around casually to relax, but aside from work, the pool was most of his exercise, so he'd often do laps as well.

Watching the swordsman go back and forth at such a pace gave him idea. He was pretty fast, that was for sure, probably just because of all that raw arm power from whatever the hell kinds of weights he lifted to get them that big. But was he any match for someone who knew what they were doing? Sanji doubted it.

With a quick decision, he dove underneath the water to catch up with Zoro, and met him above surface at the edge of the pool.

"The hell?" Zoro gave him a cock-eyed look when he came up.

Sanji shot him a silly grin. "Let's race." He said, and Zoro just looked at him like he was crazy. Sanji chose to ignore the dumb expression. "Starting here, we'll swim to that end of the pool and back." He wiggled his pointer finger from one destination to the other to clarify.

"Really?" Zoro laughed. "You think you have a chance? You were going pretty slow when I saw you earlier."

"I wasn't going for speed then." Sanji didn't have to get defensive over that one. He was sure he could beat the swordsman at this, and that might put him in his place to some degree. It'd only be more rewarding if the idiot talked big before he got left in the dust.

Zoro smirked to himself, knowing that he hadn't been using all his strength in his last few laps during the time that the cook had been watching. This meant Sanji had probably judged his speed falsely, and was likely convinced he had the upper hand. Little did he know that with the right concentration, Zoro was sure he could go at least twice as fast.

"You're on." He said, smirking.

"All right." Sanji said, and pushed himself up and out of the pool. "Let's start with a dive, and no kick offs from the other side."

"As you wish." Zoro got out of the pool as well, and stood a line away from Sanji. As he got into position, he made sure to size up his opponent. The blond look skinny when he had his clothes on, but he was much more lean than thin, and had a generally powerful looking body when it wasn't covered up. He was by far not a weakling, in fact there was almost something intimidating about the way he held himself. But he was still, of course, no match.

"On my mark." Sanji said.

"Why your mark?' Zoro argued.

"Get set." Sanji went on.

"Go!" Zoro launched himself into the pool. Not missing a beat despite the sudden change of plans, Sanji hit the water at the same moment. They took off in a fit of waves and some splashes, neck at neck for the full first half. Neither bothered to lift their heads above water to see how far ahead they were, just kept going.

When each hit the wall, they both tapped it with both hands, as if following an unspoken rule, and continued on. Zoro panicked as he made the turn around though, having seen a glimpse of Sanji splashing on ahead just a split second before he had. He put even more force into his strokes, pushing himself past his limits, and focused souly on speed. He could hear the sound of his own splashing get louder, and sloppier, but he paid little mind because he was also sure he was going faster.

When he finally hit the wall, he came up as soon as he could, assuming that it'd be judged by whoever was up first.

He wiped the water out of his eyes quickly, and turned toward Sanji, hoping to see him just breaking the surface. But in a way that Zoro almost couldn't believe, he looked like he'd been up at least a few seconds longer.

"If you're wondering why you're further away from me than when we started." Sanji said. "It's the same reason you lost."

Zoro looked down, and saw that he was now as much as a few feet off from the line he'd originally been meant to follow.

"You lost track of the course when you made the turn and panicked over the fact that I was already in front of you." Sanji grinned, and leaned victoriously against the pool wall, arms folded behind his head. He decided not to tell Zoro that he probably would have won had he not accidentally lengthened his own course.

Zoro scowled. "Whatever." He grumbled. "Tomorrow night, re-match?"

"Got somewhere to be tonight?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah." Zoro replied. "Gotta pick someone up." He pushed himself out of the pool and went straight for his towel.

"That captain of yours?" Sanji guessed.

"Exactly." Zoro dried his hair with half-effort, and then hung the towel over his shoulders just like the time before.

As he disappeared into the locker room, Sanji felt a churning of what may have been disappointment form in his gut. Maybe it was just because he hadn't beaten the marimo bad enough to make him squirm. Next time he'd have to add something more to the stakes, terms of winning, perhaps?

As if to carry on with what he'd been doing before Zoro showed up and interrupted, he dove under the water with an extra large intake of air, and stayed below, hugging his knees against his chest.

…..

**For the record, this isn't the entire second chapter. It's a little short for my taste… like I said I'm updating by day though, and this seemed like a good place to stop. I didn't get anything done the second day unfortunately because I spent all day planning and working on a birthday party for my dad.**

**Anyway, I bet a lot of you are wondering… where the hell is BROOK? Don't worry! I can't exclude the great Soul King! He'll definitely be along in his own way!**

**Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed :D! You really keep me going, and anyone who's done NaNo knows how important that is xD.**

**Bishieluv Reply:**

**Haaah, that's odd. I've actually never heard of Outlaw Star… if the universe I have set up is inspired by anything, it's more of a mix between Final Fantasy XII and Escape Velocity Nova (Computer game by ambrosia software)… but I've tried to keep it original to some high degree xD. How much like this Outlaw Star thing is it?**


	3. Days 4, 6 and 7

Zeff was nearly to the point of throwing fits over how much 'those damn sky pirates ate and drank in the roughly four days they'd been staying at the Baratie. Sanji could attribute most of it to Luffy, even after only spending a few hours with him. Regardless, based on how much Zeff was complaining and blaming him, Sanji didn't think he was going to be let off the hook as far as his paycheck any time soon. He wondered vaguely how much longer they'd be sticking around. How much more time would it take them to get ahold of a new adapter? After all, they were pirates, and probably had less than honest methods of acquiring such things when the chance arose.

He thought about just asking them for the information he'd originally boarded their ship to steal, but now that he'd learned more about them, he doubted they knew anything. The extent of his knowledge about the person he was looking for was that he was a sky pirate, so he'd hoped to find some information about him in the logbooks of other sky pirates. These pirates seemed good-natured, though, if he was any judge of character, and the one he was looking for was quite the opposite.

On another note, it seemed by what Sanji could see through the window that Usopp spent more time messing around with those pirates than he did working. Every other time Sanji looked up at something other than Nami and the other ladies on stage he saw Usopp either laughing and talking with or getting picked on by a member of the crew. Even the swordsman, who in past meetings played the neutral, boring part during times of great fun seemed to be poking fun at him. Usopp had already been scolded twice by his shift manager for being too slow when the straw hats were present in the dining room.

Usopp had wanted to be a sky pirate ever since he was a kid, just like his dad. Before he got the job, he even went as far as pretending he was captain of a crew, referring to himself as 'Captain Usopp' and what not. In fact he still did on occasion, even now. Sanji was to the point of seriously wondering if Usopp would ask to go with them when they left. He fit right in, and without the uniform could have easily been mistaken as one of them. The only two things stopping him were his attachment to Kaya, and his own insecurity as to whether he was good enough.

If he did go, he'd be missed by more than just Kaya, that was for sure. But Sanji sure as hell wasn't going to stop or discourage him.

"If you keep staring out there like a vegetable I'm going to board that window up." Zeff knocked Sanji on the back of the head with something hard that clanged. "Just because you're working for free doesn't mean you don't have to work."

"I was working, old fart!" Sanji barked. Though, slower than usual he might admit. Zeff had recently gotten into the habit of just walking by, saying something stupid, smacking Sanji, and just walking away without another word. This time it seemed his weapon of choice was a frying pan.

A part of Sanji hoped they'd leave soon just so Zeff would stop being so extra pissy all the time.

…

Sanji met Nami and Usopp after his final shift, like usual. They all got off at the same time on Wednesdays and Fridays, so it was something of a tradition to meet and have a few drinks those days. Even if Sanji did have to go back and clean up later after everyone left the dining room these days.

"Hey Usopp, are you busy with Kaya tonight?" Sanji asked.

"Yeah, why?" Usopp's reply was the same as always.

"Of course you are." Sanji wasn't surprised. "I was thinking about this thing I have planned tonight, and I need a decent judge to decide for sure who wins." He sighed. "I just thought you'd be perfect."

Usopp sprung into action. "Of course I can do that!" He pointed a thumb toward his chest. "My judgment is completely accurate and unbiased. You'll never find a better referee than me! In fact, back in year 402 at the age of eleven I-,"

"Great, thanks!" Sanji interrupted, and Usopp deflated. "Just come with me to the pool when I get off janitor duty. You can join us as well if you wish, Nami-swan!"

"What are you going to do that requires a referee at the pool?" Nami asked.

Sanji snuffed. "I beat that shitty swordsman in a swimming race last night and he wanted a re-match. I want terms this time so it'd be nice to have a third party's opinion on who won."

"You mean Zoro?" Usopp crossed his arms. "That's right, he mentioned something about owning you. You guys sure do take a little swimming race seriously."

"It'd be bad sportsmanship to back out if the marimo wants another chance." Sanji smirked. "I figure if I have to go another round anyway, might as well make it fun." He took a drink of his sake, grinning like an over-confident idiot.

"So what are you going to bet." Nami leaned in with interest. "Money?" Her eyes were practically twinkling, as if she had some mind to join the race as well.

Sanji paused thoughtfully. "I could use it." He scratched his head. "But on the off chance I lose, I don't have any, and being in that asshole's debt would be hell. Besides I was thinking something a little more interesting."

Usopp laughed. "Like the loser has to run around the bar naked!" He tossed out, and Sanji nearly spit up what he'd put into his mouth.

"The hell Usopp!" He barked, laughing between words. "If that wasn't the most random shit I've ever heard!" He thoughtlessly wiped his face on his sleeve.

"It's obvious he just wants to see you run around naked." Nami shrugged matter-of-factly, and crossed her legs at the ankle.

"What? Wha?" Usopp's head jerked back and forth between them, wondering how his joking suggestion had come to this.

"50 hille to keep it a secret." Nami held out her hand, and Usopp jumped back.

"Hell no, it's not even like that!" He wagged his arms up and down, but Nami didn't budge. Sanji snickered to himself as he set down his drink, and reached into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes. He smiled to himself as he nudged one of them out, took it between his lips, and lit up the end. What kind of horrible things could he make the swordsman do when he lost?

Usopp and Nami were already present at the pool when Sanji arrived in his swim shorts and with his towel over his shoulder, as usual.

Usopp crossed his arms and tilted his head critically. "If someone catches you walking around the hotel like that…" He trailed off instead of finishing. "There is a locker room, you know."

"That place creeps me out." He shrugged. "I was tired of having to look at naked old men." He shivered, remembering the few times that naked old man had been Zeff himself. "I'd be happy to wait until I arrived to change if I could use the woman's locker room." His cheeks turned pink and the sides of his mouth curled inward into a hornily stupid smile.

"Never happening." Usopp snorted.

Sanji had been so busy defending himself against Usopp's onslaught of stupid questions and accusations that he hadn't noticed Nami, lounging as if in her own home across the way. Not to mention, in a less than conservative bikini.

When Sanji did notice her, his legs turned to jello and would have given out had they not sprung him three feet into the air at the last second. "Nami-swwaaaaaan!" He flailed and ran over to her. "I didn't know you'd get dressed for the occasion and everything!" He skipped and twirled and stumbled around her chair, either frantic to get a look at her from every possible angle, or just too giddy to stand still.

"This is a new swim suit." She shrugged. Sanji hadn't noticed at first, but she was reading a book, and her eyes stayed on it as she spoke. "Good chance to break it in."

"You don't know how much I appreciate it!" Sanji wiped and flicked away a tear that had formed underneath his right eye. Then he quickly calmed, and frowned as he looked around the pool area. "Where's that shitty marimo? Did he bail?"

"Shut up, shit cook." Zoro's voice mocked him from behind, and Sanji whipped around to see Zoro standing in the entrance to the locker room, wearing a t-shirt and the same swim shorts. "I'm right here." He said, tossing his towel over his shoulder to walk unnecessarily far to claim the same lounge chair he had last time. "Besides, inviting my friends for moral support is just as bad as bailing, don't you think?"

Sanji scoffed. "They're here as judges. I'm not going to need any moral support after winning."

Zoro snickered. "Don't sound so sure." He pulled his t-shirt shirt over his head, once again revealing that nasty scar, and tossed it next to his folded towel. "And who says I trust these two?" Zoro eyed Usopp and Nami. Nami kept reading and Usopp glared back. "I think I should have someone on my side to make sure they don't lie in your favor."

Usopp exploded. "Hey! Don't mess with me! My honesty when it comes to judging competitions is as straight as an arrow!" His feet were planted in place and he was just waving a fist from a distance.

"Usopp." Sanji called. "Go see if you can find one of his crew." Sanji planned to win fair and square, and with no question.

"Whaaat?" Usopp drawled, then sighed. "I left Luffy and Chopper in the arcade a few minutes ago. I'll go bring them here." He moped out of the pool area, offended by the mistrust.

"While he does that, I have something to discuss with you." Sanji turned back to Zoro, who was about ready to jump in the pool, but stopped when he was addressed.

"What's that?" He asked.

"Terms." Sanji replied. They were standing on opposite ends of the pool, practically yelling across at each other, and Nami was becoming frustrated while trying to read.

"Terms, huh?" Zoro only had to think for a second, before his considering expression morphed into a sly, sinister grin. "All right." He said, and Sanji was not intimidated, but slightly disturbed. "If you lose, you have to tell me exactly what you were doing on our ship, and answer any questions I have about it."

Sanji scoffed, and looked down at the pool water. Now he definitely couldn't lose. "That's steep." He said. "If you lose you have to kiss Usopp."

"What!" Zoro barked. Since the whole thing was Sanji's idea he'd expected something much more personal and embarrassing, not to mention less random. And, no offense to Usopp, but Zoro definitely didn't want to kiss him.

"For at least five seconds, on the lips, with tongue, and you have to hold him there even if he tries to run away." Sanji clarified. "Which he probably will, as would anyone you tried to put your lips on." He mumbled.

Damn it. Zoro definitely felt a much higher need to win than before. Especially since Usopp had just been sent to go get Luffy, which meant Luffy was going to _be _there. He couldn't back out, and he couldn't refuse… but he couldn't survive those terms. He had to win.

"All right, shit cook." He grumbled. At least one thing was clear, Sanji had an equally negative reaction to Zoro's choice of consequence, so at least the dislike was even. On top of that, he felt a little more dignified in comparison. He needed to know what the damn cook was doing there for the sake of his crew, it _was_ his business, and this was the best way to get it out. Sanji just wanted to humiliate him, and apparently his long-nosed friend as well. Sadistic bastard.

Sanji was a little disappointed in himself that this was all he could come up with. At least the 'with tongue' thing made it slightly less juvenile, but he didn't want to be as dirty as Zoro and make it something personal. He wasn't into that, just looking to have fun, and was irritated that the big dumb swordsman had to turn it into something serious.

"The referee has arrived!" Luffy announced himself as he walked into the room, grabbing all attention. "Where is my striped shirt?" He placed a flattened hand perpendicular to his forehead to signify 'look-out' mode.

"Sorry, no costumes available." Sanji snickered, amused at his enthusiasm.

"Darn." Luffy pouted, then looked across the pool where Zoro was. "Hey Zoro!" He waved. "You better win or I'll kick your ass!" He sounded and looked as if he was cheering, with a big smile and his fist in the air, but his words suggested otherwise.

"Shut up, Luffy!" Zoro barked back. "I'm not going to lose!"

Sanji laughed. "That's what you said yesterday."

"BEGIN!" Luffy suddenly erupted, jumping at least five feet into the air, and probably having woken up anyone sleeping on the first two floors.

"We're not ready yet!" Sanji shouted, much less amused now by the enthusiasm.

"Well get ready!" Luffy was practically fuming. "I want to see this race!"

"Usopp, you ready to watch too?" Sanji asked Usopp, who'd been behind Luffy the whole time, just didn't have much time to open his mouth.

"Yeah." He said, and didn't even attempt to outshine Luffy's 'readiness.'

With that, Sanji hurried around to the other side of the pool, remembering as he did, how many people had warned him as a kid not to run in a pool area. That was mainly Zeff at this very pool… it looked different then, though.

Both Zoro and Sanji took the positions and locations they had the night before. Sanji was smirking, in contrast to Zoro's very serious frown as they unnecessarily surveyed the route ahead of them.

"All right." Usopp began.

"BEGIN!" Luffy shouted again, and was ignored.

"You guys have to swim all the way to the opposite edge of the pool, and then back." Usopp went on. "You have to touch the far wall with both hands before swimming back, and then this wall with both in order to win. The first one to touch both hands wins. No kicking off of the far wall, and if you stray to far from your course, you'll be disqualified."

Zoro squinted at the mention of that rule, knowing it was because that's exactly what he'd done the night before. He decided not to argue it, after all, he didn't plan to slow himself down like that a second time.

"On your marks." Usopp said, and both Zoro and Sanji relaxed their muscles and joints. "Get set." They perfected their starting positions. "GO!"

As soon as the "G" sound left Usopp's lips, they'd both taken off. Zoro hit the water a half a second first, but Sanji rather quickly took the upper hand. Both their speeds were above average, as even someone with zero experience observing swimming matches could say. Zoro splashed more, and Sanji's technique was more practiced and uniform, but Zoro was able to keep up because of his strength.

They stayed neck at neck throughout the first half, and the lead was juggled between them for the second. Until at the last few feet, one of them, with a burst of energy, over took the other by a hair, and that was that.

The moment Sanji's fingers hit the wall, his confidence level skyrocketed. Just feeling that ceramic tile he'd been aiming for made him sure he'd gotten to it first. He was as much as ready to claim his victory as he came up, until…

"And the winner is Zoro!" Usopp shouted in his most authentic referee voice. Luffy just through his fists into the air and cheered.

Sanji couldn't believe his ears, and he couldn't look anywhere but at the pool wall. How the hell had he lost? Going his most concentrated and full speed against someone who's experience in competitive swimming was obviously very low? It was impossible! Was Zoro's flat-out brute strength really enough to beat him?

When he finally looked over at the swordsman, he was smirking at something outside the pool. Sanji didn't bother to follow his line of sight to what it was, just quickly looked away.

Living up to the terms Zoro had set for him was going to be the worst part. If he'd even considered losing, he would have taken his shame and backed out. But now he was stuck in it. He'd accepted the terms and lost, and now that meant some random asshole that couldn't mind his own business was going to dig into the darkest parts of his past.

"Take some time to gather what you're going to say." Zoro's voice to his right penetrated his thoughts. "But I wouldn't suggest lying." He pushed himself out of the pool.

Sanji was grateful he didn't ask right away, because he definitely would need time. Time enough to either come up with a lie that wouldn't be seen as one, or come up with the minimal amount of truthful explanation that would still be acceptable.

A hand was held out to Sanji to help him out of the pool, and based on the tanner skin, Sanji assumed it was Usopp, and took it even though he didn't really need it. But the grip was more firm, and more aggressive than Usopp's would have been. When Sanji looked up, it was Zoro's face looking down on him, arm out-stretched, not Usopp's.

"The hell, marimo?" Sanji glared as he was pulled out of the pool.

"You have something against good sportsmanship?" Zoro asked, releasing his hand once he was on his feet. Sanji's hand tingled in the places where Zoro's had been touching it, and he curled the fingers into a tight fist to make it go away. Zoro had already long walked away, to Luffy, likely to brag or something.

Sanji just stood there, staring at his hand.

"Hey." Usopp said, interrupting his brood. "So you lost, big deal." He shrugged. "Now you guys are even."

He said that, but Usopp didn't know what Sanji had to give up now that this had happened. He hadn't been there when the terms had been set.

"It sure was close." Nami said, voice coming from behind Sanji. "I almost would've argued a tie." The sight of Nami in her blue and white flowered bikini, standing upright next to the pool drove all of Sanji's sorrows away.

"Oh Nami-san." Sanji placed his folded hands on his heart. "I'm sorry I couldn't win for you, my duchess."

Nami sighed. "I forgive you." She said, just to humor him as usual. Occasionally Sanji would talk to her like a normal person, but she should have known such things would have been impossible in her current state of dress. "I'm getting in." She announced. "How about the rest of you?"

The other four turned to face her.

"Whoo!" Luffy threw his fist into the air for the hundred time. "Let's swim!" He ran passed Zoro, ripping off his shirt and throwing it backward so Zoro would catch it as he did. Zoro rolled his eyes, and held it away from his body to keep it dry.

Luffy hit the water in a cannonball with a splash that was three times too big for his small frame. Nami, who'd been standing near the edge, was completely soaked.

"What the hell was that you moron!" She shouted as Luffy resurfaced.

"Huh?" Luffy cocked his head. "You were getting in anyway, right?" Nami just scowled.

"Well, I guess I could go for a swim." Usopp chuckled to himself and removed his shirt as well. He'd worn swim trunks as bottoms just in case the occasion arose.

"Come on Zoro!" Luffy shouted, splashing around next to Nami, who was now in the water and had already given up on trying to keep her newly primped hair dry. As soon as Usopp was in, he swam straight over to Luffy and started splashing at him.

"What the hell Usopp!" Luffy splashed back.

"What else are we going to do in a pool!" Usopp explained himself, and that's where the splash battle began.

Sanji's mind had been made up the moment Nami had gotten into the water. He'd only stayed out to admire her flawless form as it moved beneath the clear liquid.

"You getting in, swirly?" Zoro's dumb voice interrupted his lovely thoughts about sharing the water that touched all parts of Nami's body. Good thing too, because he'd nearly shriveled up and turned to a pile of happy-dust at those images.

"Of course I am!" Sanji shouted. "Nami's in there!" He turned back toward the pool, and looked at Usopp and Luffy as they had their ridiculously huge splash fight.

"Wouldn't mind a little fun either." He grinned, watching Luffy pretty much destroy Usopp with splashes until Usopp was begging not to be drowned. At least a little immature play time might let him forget his impending doom.

"What about you?" Sanji tossed over his shoulder.

"I guess." Zoro shrugged. Luffy had called him in after all, though he sure as hell wasn't going to play splash fight, he didn't have anywhere else to be either. Sanji shrugged him off, and dove in himself, quickly joining Luffy and Usopp to help his comrade. With both Sanji and Usopp working together, the two sides were about matched.

Zoro got in calmly, not far from where Nami watching the scene with her arms crossed.

"You're captain's kind of insane, isn't he?" She observed, and Zoro laughed.

"That's not exactly the word I'd use." He said, as Luffy started flapping his arms around madly to the point where Usopp and Sanji turned heal and ran, though both were much slower under water. "…But close enough." He shrugged.

"You know it's pretty personal." Nami said. "That question you're going to ask him."

Zoro scoffed. "I don't care how personal it is. He put himself in the situation when he broke out engine. We deserve an explanation."

Nami thought it over for just a few moments. "Well, I guess that's true." She decided. "After all, it's not like he can pay for it himself. Especially not with all the money he owes me."

"He owes you money?" Zoro inquired. "What for?"

"For when he walked in on me changing."

"The hell?" Zoro cocked an eyebrow. It was obvious from the beginning that the cook was a pervert, but did he also have a death wish? "On purpose?"

"Probably not." Nami shrugged. "The money he owes is for that, plus interest."

Zoro's eye twitched. "Are you a mercenary?" He said it under his breath, but she caught it.

"What?" She glared. "Don't give me that look. I even knocked off a few tens because he lost so much blood when it happened. I felt sorry for him, and we are friends after all." Her tone was disturbingly casual.

"You're a witch." Zoro decided.

…

Sanji had gotten irritated, and Usopps arms had given out. Luffy wasn't even close to done yet, and took to splashing Usopp's face and Sanji's back because only one of them was quick witted enough to face the other way.

Usopp was so desperately trying to get Luffy to stop verbally that he was nearly water-logged from head to toe after only ten minutes.

"Hey Luffy!" Zoro finally called out. "Give the poor guy a break, would you?"

Luffy stopped and looked at him, frowning. "He started it." He pointed at Usopp.

"I'm defeated." Usopp's nose was barely above the water, and his eyes and head were spinning.

"I'm pretty sure you've ended it." Zoro insisted, and Luffy sighed, thinking he was probably right. He'd been hoping for a little more of a fight before he won, though.

Sanji took this chance to leave the vicinity of the splashing, knowing full well that this probably wasn't the end.

Sure enough, as soon as Usopp regained his composure, he got the brilliant idea of revenge, and shoved a spray of water directly into Luffy's face.

"You bastard!" Luffy was immediately back in it. "You faked the white flag!" He shouted, and Usopp immediately regretted it.

"Nami-san, how are you doing?" Sanji came up beside her. "Are your fingers wrinkling yet?" He asked her, picking up one of her hands to check.

"Don't think so." Nami said, also looking at the hand Sanji was examining.

"That's good." Sanji released her. "Someone with such beautiful complexion should avoid staying in too long."

Zoro wanted to throw up, and even made the gagging sounds to prove it.

"The hell was that, Marimo?"

"I didn't say anything, Eyebrows." Zoro shrugged.

"You cheater!" Luffy insisted, and a gigantic wave flew from the other end of the pool, and nearly hit Sanji full on. Unfortunately it did just that to Nami, who was just a few feet closer.

"You assholes!" Unfortunately for Luffy, that was. "Watch where the hell you're splashing!" Nami was on the other side of the pool in a flash, throwing enormous waves at both Luffy and Usopp, who were swimming, running, and flailing away for their lives.

"So when are you going to collect your winnings?" Sanji asked. A part of him was just eager to get it over with.

"When I feel like you'll be most honest." Zoro shrugged.

Sanji snorted. "Good luck with that."

"If it's such a big deal I'm surprised you didn't try harder to win." Zoro laid back against the side of the pool, arms folded behind his head as if he were contemplating a nap.

"I was trying!" Sanji barked. "You're just a fucking monster! I should have known better than trying to best you in your natural habitat, fucking marimo."

Zoro shrugged. "Guess I was trying just as hard, then."

Sanji scoffed. "Oh come on. Usopp's not that repulsive." He chuckled under his breath. "Unless you're just that insecure about kissing another guy."

Zoro's voice was serious. "It's not that." He said. "I'm with someone, and I didn't want to do anything like that with anyone else, even if it was just a game."

"Oh ho ho!" A grin spread across Sanji's face. "So the marimo has a girlfriend?" He snickered under his breath. "A lilypad perhaps?"

"Shut up." Zoro knew he should never have tried to explain.

"Seriously." Sanji drew in closer, intrigued. "What's she like?" He was sure she must've been remotely attractive, even for the shitty swordsman. Couldn't have been very smart, though.

"None of your business." Zoro glared.

Sanji snickered. "Fine fine." He raised both his hands in defeat, and took a step back. "I won't press." He was still cackling under his breath though. There was something funny about this guy being in an actual relationship, and treating it pretty much the same way Usopp did with Kaya. Even though it was just a game, even if it was with a guy rather than a girl, Usopp would avoid being unfaithful at all costs. Now Sanji almost felt bad for nearly having both these failed, but hard-working romantics smooch with each other and betray their faiths.

"I take it by the way you hit on any woman younger than 90 and older than 10, you're pretty available." Zoro said, as something of a late comeback. Sanji didn't take it that way, though.

"But think of them all!" Sanji nearly melted into the water, and had to fall against the side of the pool to stay standing. "There are so many, and they're all here every day! How can I pick just one?"

Zoro snorted, and rolled his eyes. When he looked across the pool at the others, Luffy was practically being drown by a still angry Nami and Usopp was flailing around her shouting "you're killing him!"

"What about her. She's your friend, right? What if it was her?"

Sanji looked at Nami beating up the other two, and smiled just a little. "I don't know, maybe." He shrugged. "She is probably the most gorgeous out of all of them."

Zoro rolled his eyes for a second time, and decided to stop there.

The dining room was closed Saturday night, and Sanji thanked whatever heavens for that. All day the cooks were busy preparing a buffet that would be placed in the bar area where there'd be a musical performance by some famous band. He was busy making the food for the customers, and keeping up with what was on the buffet menu. He did like a challenge if it had to do with cooking, but he was relieved he got to relax and enjoy the show afterward.

The bar area was off limits to patrons due to the extensive display of food that had been set there. Sanji made a note to himself as he looked over it: Keep Luffy away. It was, after all, all you can eat. And Luffy may have been able to stomach every morsel.

Being one of the first ones there, Sanji decided to pass over the usual three to four person table that his trio usually sat at. He didn't want any table-hopping, so he was quick to grab one of the largest wrap around booths near the back. It was also as far from the bar as possible, so if Luffy made a run for it, they might have time to stop him.

As expected, the entire strawhat crew along with Usopp and Nami arrived together. Those two were really becoming quite the tag alongs, especially Usopp. Nami always dreamed of being a private navigator for some organization and seeing the universe. Would she leave with them as well?

"Hey Sanji! The food looks really great." Usopp slid into the booth across from Sanji, but as the other six followed, he was scooted all the way down until he was right next to him.

"Well I didn't make all of it." Sanji shrugged, taking a drag of his cigarette.

Luffy was already pouting. "I wasn't going to eat it all." He was between Zoro and Franky, which was probably enough to keep him in check.

"Half isn't okay either." Franky said, and Luffy slouched, grumbling.

"Don't worry, Luffy, when I go up I'll bring you back a full plate." Zoro promised

"Three!" Luffy held up his two hands, two fingers on one, and one on the another.

"Two." Zoro compromised, and Luffy seemed to accept it for the time being, but made sure to add: "Get lots of meat!"

"Hey cook, is the bar open?" Zoro asked. "I was really hoping there'd be booze."

"It's closed for the buffet, but if anyone else shares your interest I can snag some from the kitchen." Sanji eyed around the table. "Otherwise you'll just have to buy some from the shop across the dining room."

"I could go for that." Franky raised his hand.

"I second it." Robin did as well, and with that, Sanji was sold.

"Any preference, Robin-chawn?" Sanji asked, gazing at her with dreamy eyes. Franky frowned at the nickname, but held his tongue. He didn't feel threatened by Sanji, because it was already apparent that he wasn't going to get anywhere based on the fact that he fawned over every woman that walked within ten yards of him. But it still irritated him.

"Nothing cheap, if you please." Robin smiled. "Something good."

"Only the best, of course!" Sanji rose out of the booth with grace, and bowed to her like a mere waiter as he tip-toed away. Franky and Zoro rolled their eyes simultaneously.

"Come on Nami, Chopper, let's go grab something to eat." Usopp grabbed Chopper's arm, and Chopper agreed enthusiastically as he was pulled out of the booth. Nami followed as well.

"Zoro! Food!" Luffy ordered.

"All right, all right." Zoro got up to follow them. "Franky, mind holding him here?"

"No problem." Franky turned to Robin. "You know what I like." He grinned widely, and she smiled back, nodding, and got up after Zoro and the others. She hurried up beside Zoro, and crossed her arms over her chest,

"How many arms do you have?" She asked.

Zoro gave her a funny look, and held up both his hands to look at them. "Two."

"How are you going to carry three plates of food?" She asked.

"Three?" He remembered only agreeing to two.

"I see." Robin smiled, and laughed behind her hand. "You didn't really think about yourself."

Zoro's face turned red, and he looked away. He was always wary about Robin, because sometimes it was almost as if she knew. She was far too intuitive for him. "I'm not that hungry." He shrugged, and walked ahead. "Maybe I'll ask Chopper to carry mine."

The band had arrived late due to bad whether and atmospheric conditions when the spacecraft dropped in. But when they did, the entire bar roared, including Usopp, Nami, Chopper, and Franky. They were called 'Just Bones', and they were a relatively popular heavy metal and rock alternative band. Sanji had heard a few songs, and was also a minor fan, but Usopp and Chopper were practically falling out of their seats. Nami wasn't normally one to go crazy over celebrities, but she was cheering. Franky was possibly the loudest of them all, with Robin next to him laughing quietly. Luffy was eating, and Zoro was drinking.

The lead singer was called 'Brook' and widely known as the 'Soul King' for the skull painted on his face over black, with blue glow-in-the-dark orbs on his eyelids. He did his shows in darkness with his eyes shut, and the blue glows made it appear like a soul glowing through empty eye sockets. Sanji had to admit it was a cool effect, though he'd only seen it in holograms.

"Yohohohoho!" Brook let out his trademark laugh, and a good percentage of the fans repeated it back to him. "It's so great to be here, everyone!" He shouted, and the entire bar cheered, including Luffy, though he didn't really know what he was cheering for.

"Hey guys!" Usopp shouted over the loud noise. "Let's move up closer!"

"Aye, aye!" Franky agreed, and picked Robin up from her seat to cradle her in his arms. She laughed, and held onto his shoulders.

"Come on Sanji!" Usopp encouraged. Sanji wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea, but when it seemed Nami and Robin were both going, he couldn't pass it up.

"Zoro, are you going?" Luffy was already halfway out of the booth when he noticed Zoro hadn't gotten up.

"Don't worry." Zoro waved him off. "I'll just stay here and hold down the fort." He took a swig from one of the bottles Sanji had brought.

"Loser!" Luffy threw and index finger in his direction, and then waved him off as Chopper started to pull him away. Zoro smirked and flipped him a raised forefinger, before taking another big gulp.

Robin didn't have the slightest idea how anyone could have fallen asleep during such loud music, noise, and cheering. But alas, when she returned from the insanity of the other six, Zoro was snoring like a baby. She decided not to wake him, and simply sipped at her drink.

Franky, Luffy, and Chopper were all dancing like mental patients with a slight amount of step talent on top of one of the large rectangular tables. There was an attendant trying to call out to them and tell them to get down, but Chopper accidentally kicked him in the face, and he quickly gave up. The other attendants and employees had already gone just as insane. Usopp had called an early night to meet his girlfriend—Kaya her name was, and Nami had left alongside him.

Robin couldn't see where the cook had gone, but she assumed that he'd turned in as well. That was, until he sat down across from her.

"There you are." She said.

"Oh, Robin-chwan, were you looking for me?" He asked, having to shout, mainly over the sound of Luffy and Franky obnoxiously singing along. Along with Franky's out bursts of "Suuupeerr!" when the lyrics stopped.

"Your friends left." She said. "I thought you may have too."

"Never without wishing you a good night." Sanji picked up his glass, and took a rather large gulp of it.

"You seem a little drunk." Robin inquired. Sanji smiled widely, almost flattered that she'd noticed, and shrugged.

"Tipsy, maybe." He admitted, and poured himself a little more to drink, making sure not to use the bottle that Zoro already put his mouth on. "What about your Franky? He seems completely wasted." He nodded to the trio dancing like circus freaks.

"I'm sure he hasn't had that much." Robin laughed. "It's easy for him to let loose like that even without intoxication."

Sanji chuckled. "Same goes for the other two, it seems." He was pretty sure that Luffy hadn't had anything to drink, and there was no way Chopper had, just by his age. But craziness looked a little more typical on those two.

"Yeah, them too." Robin agreed.

"And he's out like a lamp." Sanji nodded toward the sleeping Zoro, who was snoring obnoxiously with an expression that lacked a lot of charm. "Funny, he looked like the type that'd be able to hold his liquor pretty well."

Robin giggled under her breath, but decided not to tell him that the swordsman was also in the habit of doing such things without any chemical influence.

It wasn't until the music stopped and things had calmed down that Zoro finally woke up. He did so suddenly, as if from a dream, with a dumb look on his face and a trickle of dried drool from the side of his mouth. Sanji snickered at the sight, and Zoro blinked, and then looked in his direction.

"Where's everyone else?" He asked.

"Robin was just here." Sanji said. "But she's escorting the exhausted Franky to his room at the moment."Chopper and Luffy are there." Sanji pointed to two figures, laying flat on the same table they'd been dancing on as a custodian swept up the mess around it.

"I was told to wake you up so you could take them back." Sanji said. "Lucky for me you did that on your own." He started to stand up, deciding his work here was done.

"Hey, wait." Zoro said, suddenly very coherent and awake. That surprised Sanji, seeing as he'd thought Zoro had passed out from the alcohol. "You're drunk, aren't you?"

Sanji snorted, and stuck his hand into his pocket to pull out a cigarette. "Not exactly." He was a little more than usual. He'd never been the best at holding his liquor, and trying to impress Robin by drinking at least a little more than she did had sent him over the edge. He was trying to stay focused and calm, but he felt a little floaty, if that were a word, and overly relaxed.

"Sit down." Zoro said, pointing to the place Sanji had been sitting before.

"Why?" Despite his question, Sanji did as he was told before he received an answer.

"Because it's time for me to collect my winnings." Zoro crossed his arms over his chest and grinned maniacally. Sanji's face turned sour, and he wanted to walk away, but sitting down again felt nice.

"I thought you were wasted." Sanji grumbled.

Zoro let out a short, sharp "Ha!" And took another swig of the almost-gone bottle of sake that was in front of him. "I hardly know the meaning of the word."

"I see." Sanji didn't want this to happen now. Then again, maybe it should have. He felt less tense about it like this, less tense about everything. And if it had to happen sooner or later, why not at the most comfortable time?

Who was he kidding! Zoro had obviously chosen a time like this in particular for the sake of getting the most out of him! And it was a good idea too. Some people got crazy, some people got emotional. Sanji? He got open, like a fucking book. There was no way the marimo could have known that though… had Nami told him? Usopp?

His logical side told him to walk away right now, but the alcohol was convincing. Maybe he did just need to talk about it, maybe he should tell someone?

Finally, he sighed, and just spoke. "All right shit head." Zoro was surprised by the more general insult. He thought their relationship was beyond such informalities from the start. "You want to know why I invaded your happy home or whatever, right?"

"Our skyship, yes." Zoro clarified. "And broke the engine."

"The engine thing was an accident like I said a hundred times." Sanji ran his finger along the top rim of his wine glass, staring at the liquid inside it as he spoke. "I tripped over something, probably something your stupid engineer left laying around. I got mad, and may have kicked it a little too hard." He shrugged.

Zoro snorted. "Fine. I'll accept that. Why were you there in the first place? And how did you bypass the security?"

"Usopp gave me the stuff to get through the door without setting off any alarms. I had to just cross my fingers as to whether there was any laser grid censors or whatever."

"Usopp?" Zoro snapped. "So he was in on it? Little bastard…" Zoro had long since asked Usopp if he knew anything about why Sanji had done what he did, and he said he didn't, and added in a bullshit story about how "If I'd known my friend was up to such dangerous things, I would have stopped him at the first step!"

"He takes care of all the technical stuff. I'm the one who actually has to go in and put my ass on the line though." Sanji grumbled, going back to the moment he got caught and playing it over and over again, trying to erase it from the past.

"So does that mean it was Usopp's idea? Is he the one I should be talking to?"

"No." Sanji laughed. "This is all my thing, Usopp's just nice and was helping me out." He was smiling as he spoke, then his face quickly turned solemn as he turned back to thought mode.

"So, once again, what were you after?" Zoro noticed Sanji had been avoiding that question since the beginning.

Sanji sighed, and gave in. "I was looking for information." He explained. "Any sort, a virtual log, a diary, notes…" He didn't take his eyes off the wine as he spoke. "It's not like you guys were special. I get Usopp and we infiltrate just about every pirate ship that comes through here if he thinks he can bypass the security successfully."

"What information are you looking for specifically?"

"There's a guy." Sanji's voice was emotionless, and his face was blank. "I know his code name, I've seen his face, but I have no idea where he is, or how to find and contact him, or what his real name is. I also know he's a sky pirate, though. So I'm trying to find anything I can to help me locate the bastard."

Zoro's nerves had calmed. So it was something harmless. Now he just wondered why it was such a secret. He was satisfied in relation to his original reasons for asking these questions, but now he was curious, and wanted to see how much more he could get out before the cook went back to secret mode.

"Bastard, huh?" Zoro inquired. "I take it that means you don't like him."

"That's what he is." Sanji glared straight ahead. "I hate him for what he did, but now it's almost like he never existed. After all the shit he did to me, he just disappears into nowhere, and it's like none of it ever happened." Sanji was now gripped the glass tightly in both hands.

"So it's for revenge, then?" Zoro kept any judgment out of his tone.

"No." Sanji shook his head. "I guess some people would but I don't like that sort of thing, and I don't think it's worth wasting and risking my life over." His hands relaxed a little more, and he lowered his head until his chin flat against the table. "I just need to find him, because right now, it's almost like it was all a dream, and I can barely sleep at night, because that concept disgusts me. After everything that happened… it's like it never did. I have to see him, see how pathetic and disgusting he is. When he's before my eyes, I'll decide whether or not to kick his ass then."

Zoro was impressed. Maybe a good portion of it stemmed from the fact that he also wasn't a fan of revenge as a motivation, but it was interesting that this guy would go so far out of his way to face his past, and finally put it behind him. Instead of running from it, like most do and would, he was chasing it. Trying desperately to confront it so he could look it square in the eye, and then move on.

Zoro didn't know what happened to him, but he could see the pain in his eyes, and hear it from the strain in his voice. It wasn't time to ask something that personal, though, not when Sanji was like this, if ever at all.

**A/N- **Whew. So this update took longer than it should have, but at least it's a pretty big one. I've decided I'm just going to update by chapter from now on instead of by day, since some days I write next to nothing and others I just go on a rampage it seems xD.

Anyway, sorry for the wait everyone! What I have currently posted equals three chapters, and the next will be the whole of chapter four.

I'd like to dedicate this, if I may, to Xarciel, who really upped my confidence level for writing this. Made me feel like it was worth it, and like I was making a worth while contribution. Of course, every review helped with that.

Anyway, replies for those who don't have FF accounts:

**Review Master **– NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is… well, exactly what it sounds like xD. It's basically a month (November) in which, if you participate, you write an entire novel with in that month, meaning 50k words at least. It's really just to hone your skills at getting your ideas out there to be edited later as opposed to trying to portray them in perfection the first time.

Second question, no, unfortunately, even though it's sad that Luffy can't be made of rubber, as this chapter suggest, there are no devil fruits. They simple don't exist in this universe, and neither does anything common that could turn a person to rubber, so I had to leave that out. Luffy is just a normal, really strong person, Chopper's just a 15 year old doctor, and Brook is just a tall skinny guy that paints skulls on his face for shows.

It's meant to be before :]. All though I did mess up in the last chapter about Sanji's right eye being covered, it was meant to be his /left/ eye that's covered, as it is pre-timeskip.

Thanks a ton for the review!


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